Nightmare ends muck-up day

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It should have been a memorable day of excitement, celebration
and pranks. But a car carrying pyjama-clad teenagers to a "muck up"
end-of-term breakfast was involved in a head-on crash that left
five people in hospital.

Teachers at Sylvania High School had laid on a 7am barbecue,
followed by a show of photos, songs and jokes for year 12 students
about to go on study leave for their HSC exams.

But the festivities ended in tears when students learnt that
four of their peers had been injured in an accident on Tom Uglys
Bridge in Sylvania.

One of the students, 17-year-old Kynan Hall, was flown to
intensive care at St George's Hospital yesterday with spinal
injuries and suspected blood on the brain, in a rescue which
involved a helicopter landing on the bridge during the morning
rush-hour.

He was in the passenger seat of a car driven by his P-plater
schoolmate, Ibrahim Abbas. Two others, Philip Ruell and Miles
Cran-Crombie, were in the back seat and were treated for broken
bones, bruises and shock.

Witnesses said the car had crossed a lane divider and careered
into the path of northbound vehicles, causing a pile-up involving
at least three cars. The 58-year-old driver of one car was in a
serious but stable condition yesterday with chest and neck
injuries.

Speaking at the hospital, Philip Ruell said the boys had elected
Ibrahim, a non-drinker, to drive to the traditional pyjama
breakfast following a well-behaved party the night before with
teachers present.

He was looking forward to it: "It was going to be a lot of fun.
It was going to be one of the last times I was going to see
everyone from school."

Memories of the accident are hazy but Philip's father Bernd said
his son remembers the car clipping the wall of the bridge then
spinning across the road.

"It's the sort of thing you hear happening to other people,"
said Mr Ruell.

"The HSC is in three weeks. "

Outside Sylvania High School, there were signs of short-lived
celebrations. Eggs had been thrown at the school sign.

Alice Cran-Crombie, whose son Miles suffered minor injuries,
said: "This is an incredible wake-up call, an opportunity to
learn how lucky they are."